Confirmation of the launch date for XRP futures on the CME exchange

The announcement reflects the growing institutional demand for Ripple Labs' cryptocurrency.

Recently, CME launched Solana (SOL) futures

These instruments could boost the price of Ripple Labs' cryptocurrency.

The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) confirmed that XRP futures will hit the market on May 19.

After regulatory approval, traders will be able to trade contracts in large size (50,000 XRP) or micro (2,500 XRP).

As CriptoNoticias has already explained, futures contracts allow investors to speculate on the future price of an asset on a specific date, without the need to directly hold the cryptocurrency, in this case, XRP.

It is an agreement between two parties: one commits to buy and the other to sell the asset at a specified price in the future. When the contract's expiration date arrives, the parties exchange the cash difference (in cash-settled contracts), depending on whether the asset's value was higher or lower than initially agreed upon.

This type of instrument is used both to speculate on market movement (betting that the price will rise or fall) and to hedge against risks in high volatility scenarios.

In the case of XRP, futures allow traders and institutions to have exposure to the asset without the need to hold it directly.

CME Group's XRP futures will be cash-settled and based on the CME CF XRP reference rate, which tracks the asset's price daily until 4:00 PM, London time.

After the launch date was announced, Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple Labs, expressed through his social media: “Although it comes late in many ways, this is an incredibly important and exciting step in the continued growth of the XRP market.